"I dedicate this painting to the conversion and reconversion of people to the Church - I know she would like that."
~ Artist, Patricia Henderson

The new "St. Therese of Lisieux in the Garden."

"I expressed to a friend a while back, in the process of studying the life of St. Therese, that if I could be instrumental in some special way in establishing a significant movement for her, it would be a mission energized with profound determination to spread, world-wide, the devotion, the story, and the image of her. It would be my honor to be able to do it for her.

This young Carmelite nun was wholeheartedly devoted to God and His Son and expressed it in simple and happy ways. She was an expert in the use of metaphors which made reading her stories and poems absolutely joyful. One gets the impression while reading about her that she lived her life contemplating love with a gleeful attitude. That fact is what caught my attention and impressed me about her. The culmination of her years of contemplation, writing and her enormous and tender love for God is exactly why she is loved so much by so many, and is the origin of her wish to “Make God loved by everyone”. She happily taught the world the secrets of love.

She expressed love in the simplest form possible, so that anyone who read her writings could easily be captured by her simple Little Way. She used her joyful and fun metaphors cleverly, to explain her ideas and get her point across. She spent her days in quiet prayer and solitude busily performing her duties behind the walls of the Carmel Monastery in Lisieux, France. She wrote several manuscripts while she was ill with tuberculosis, which would, eventually, become great books that would change the minds of even the most defensive individuals. The world would come to know her writings and her gentle ways of approaching faith only after her death.

I chose to paint her as a birthday gift for my dear friend Peter; something I was sure he would like very much. While I had always known about her, I was quite impressed how much Peter felt about her. Through his devotion to her, I became closer and more devoted to her as well. It was exciting to know how his reading of The Story of a Soul played a huge role in his coming back to the Church.

Yes, it started out as a simple gift for a dear friend, and in its completion, has become a great way to know her better ……. It’s thrilling for me to see that people who have seen this painting, so far, would like a print of it immediately; it’s mind boggling to me. 

And so, we have put together this website to make this painting of Therese available to the world. It has been viewed now by many, many people who are absolutely amazed at the sight of this sweet young saint. My wish is to make it available to everyone; it is my joy to help present her, in a new way, to the world."

This Saint Therese reproduction is brought to you by Mercy Films, Inc.